Labeling-machine.



E. P. WETMORE.

LABBLING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED Nov.15, 1912.

Patented July 7, 1914.

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LABELING MACHINE.

APPLIOATIVON FILED IN'OV. 15, 1912.

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LABELNG MACHINE.

APPLIGAMON FILED 11017.15, 1912.

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E. P. WETMORE.

LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 11011.15, 1912,

1,102,832. Patented July 7,1914.

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LABBLING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED Nov.15, 1912.

1 Patented July 7, 1914.

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Wm fas/f E. P. WETMORE. LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15, 1912.

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Patented July 7, 1914.

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LABELING MACHINE., APPLICATION FILED NOV.16, 1912.

Patented July 7, 1914.

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APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15, 1912.

Patented July 7, 1914.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 9.

INVENTOH EARL PQRTER WETMORE, 0F TOLEDO, OHIO.

LABELING-MACH'INE.

incassa.

Application ledl ovember 15, 1912.

n Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July '7, 1914.

Serial No. 7315643.

To ull' Whom if muy conccrn Be it known that I. EARL PoRTnn lvm-- noun. a resident otl Toledo` in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio. have.' invented a new and useful Improvement in Labeling- Machines. cf which the following is a full, clear. and exact description,v reference being had to the :u'companying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a horizontal section ot' a machine embodying my invention. the section being taken above the central table of the machine: Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the 'machine with the driving wheel omitted; Fig. :2" is a detail view of the friction device; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of certain ol the parts in section; Fig. 4- is a rear elevation also having certain of the parts in sectifrn; Fig. 5 is a plan viewof the upper portion of the machine with one of the label holders removed; Fig. is a detail view partly in plan and partly in horizontal sec-l tion ci? a portion of one of the label-feeding mechanisms; Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views showing in plan and side elevation. respectively` portions of the operating mechanism for the pasting and lebel-feeding mechanirms; Figs. 9 and 10 are detail views showing portions of the bottle-controlled clutch nn-cl'ianism: Figs. 11. 12 and "13 are detail views showing slip gears or clutches used in the machine; Fig. 14 is a detail view showing the actuating cams; Fig. 15 lis a side elevation partly in sectiomy illustrating a modification ot' the machine arranged to apply a neck label as well as a body label; Fig. 1li is a detail view of a portion of F ig. l5; and Fig. 17 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 15.

M v invention has relation to ai-.machine for putting labels upon bottles. jarscans or ether receptacles automatically, and is designed to provide a machine of this character which is simple in its operation, which will do the work without manual handling of the bott-les or other receptacles. which will apply the labels thereto with any required degree of pressure. and which is rapid in its operation. and thereby7 effects a large saving in time and labor.

The embodiment of my invention shown in the accompanying drawings is a machine,

of the duplex type, which I prefer, in order to double the rapidity of operation over' single tvpe'machines. Many of the features of my invention are,.howe'ver, equally applicable to single type machines.

While, as above stated, my invention is applicable to a pplying labels to various receptacles, in the following description I Will, for the sake ot' brevity, consider the receptacles to which the labels are applied as bottles, but this terms will be understood as including various other receptacles.

{hom/'ol nature and operation of the machines-'Phe machine consists` of a feed-in conveyer adapted to feed the bottles successively into the machine; tWo sets of label-feeding, pasting and applying mechanisms, one setbeing arranged on either side oi the center line of travel of the incoming bottles; a transfer or pusher device for mov-l ing the incoming bottles alternately to the action of one and the other of thelabelfeeding mechanisms; controlling clutch mechanism operated by the incoming bottles for controlling the operation of the machine and whereby its work is trade dependent upon the arrival of the bottles at the proper position to be acted upon by the transfer device; and t-Wofeed-out conveyers which take the labeled bott-les from theyrespective label-applying mechanisms and deliver them from the machine. ,n

The 'machine frame-This frame may, in general'. .be vof any suitable character. In the machine shown, it consists generally of three tabl-e portions l, 2 and 3, arranged one above another and -supported on the four hollow pipe members 4. Suitable bolts 4a pass through these pipe members from the supporting feet 4 to the top table 3, and thus hold the three tables firmly in place.

The bottle c0noe-1/ers.-In the' horizontal plane of the central table 2. is a longitudinally extending bottle'conveyer 5, for feedling the bottles into the machine, and having the parallel conveyer chains or belts 6. At.`

their outer ends these chains pass over idle sprockets 7 (see Fig. 2) carried by shafts 8, journaled in the side pieces 9. These side Ipieces are made adjustable, as indicated at 9 for the purpose of regulating the slack of the chains. At the machine end, the conveyer belts or chains 6 pass over sprocket wheels 11` Which are keyed to a shatt- 10. The side boards 12 of the conveyer actas side guards for the row of bottles. A row of incoming bott-les is indicated at 13. le

designates a bottle Which has just received its label and is about to be conveyed away and 15 indicates bottles which are being carried away by the delivery conveyers. rFliese delivery conveyers are arranged at opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the machine. as clearly shown in Fig. 1. and are similar to the feed-in conveyers. They each consist of two parallel chains or belts 16, which pass over idle sprockets 17, at their outer ends. and. are driven at their machine ends by sl'nockct wheels 18. on the shaft 10, before referred to. The idle Wheels 17 are carried by the shafts 17a, which are journaled in the adjustable brackets 19, for taking up slack in the chains. 20 designates| side boards or guards for the delivery conveyers. The shaft 10 which actuates the three conveyers carries a sprocket wheel 21, which is driven by a sprocket chain from a sprocket Wheel 23. The sprocket Wheel 23y is keyed to a quil] shaft 24, which is looselyl mtunted on a main shaft journaled belovv the table 2. 26 (see Figs. 3 and 4) designates a. main drive Wheel which is keyed or otherwise secured to the quill shaft The quill shaftand sprocket Wheel 23 being directly connected to the main drive wheel 2G, the three conveyors are constantly driven.

The bottle pusher or distributer-This bottle pusher or distributer consists ofa transversely movable vertical plate member 27, which is rigidly secured to or integral with vay transverse removable rack bar 28 (see Figs. 2 and 3). This rack bar 28 is mounted in suitable ways or guides 29 on the central table 2. The rack 28 is arranged to be reciprocated by means of a gear wheel 4 30, whose teeth engage in teeth of the rack.

The gear Wheel 8O is mounted on a shaft 31,

to which it is connected by a friction or a slip device, hereinafter described. Rigidly secured to the shaft 31 is a pinion 32. which is driven by a gear 33, fixed to a shaft 34, which also has secured thereto a pinion 235, Whose teeth are engaged by the teeth of a vertically reciprocating rack bar 36, the rack bar being held in engagement with the pinion by means of a roller 37. The rack bar 36 is rigidly'connected to a yoke 38, which has a guide bearing 39 at its lowver end. its upper end being guided by the roller 37, just referred to. lThis yoke carries tWo antifriction rollers 40 (see Figs. 3 and 14) which contact With opposite sides of a cam 41 which is fixed to the-mainshaft 25. When the shaft is set in motion by the `means presently described, the cam 41 Will effect a. vertical reciprocation of the yoke and its attached rack bar 36, thereby, through' the train of gears described, effecting a transverse reciprocation of the.

rack bar 28 and a corresponding reciprocation of the pusher plate 27. rihe cam 41 has a high spot or hump a and an opposite recess o (see Fig. 14) the purpose of which is to cause the pusher plate 27 to make a rings.`

`slightly longertravel than indicated by the rest positionon the cam. The pusher plate will. consequently drop back a short distance before it comes to rest, for the purpose hereinafter stated. As before stated. the gear AWheel 3() has a slip connection with, its shaft 231. Any suitable form of slip gear may be employed. ln Figs. 12 and 18, l have illustrated one such form. in these figures. the gear wheel 8() is shown as loosely mounted on the shaft 31, between two? meinbers 42, which are fixed to the shaft 81. Each of the members 42 carries a friction ring 43, opposite which rings the 'faces o f the wheel 80 are recessed to receive rings 44. These rings are guided Von a series of pins 45, andare pressed outwardly by a series of springs 48, interposed between the two When the drivingv friction .between the rings 43 and 44 is overcome, the driving connection between the Wheel and the shaft 31 vvill be destroyed. This permits the machine to perform a one-half cycle of its operation, without causing any damage thereto, more fully hereinafter described.

The controlli/ng 0'1 timing mechanism.m As just described, the pusher mechanism is actuated fronrthe mainy shaft 2: and the pasting. and labeling mechanisms presentl to be describedA are also operated from this shaft 25.4 The connection between the shaft 25 and the clutch shaft 24 is controlled by a clutch which, in turn, is controlled by the arrival `of the bottles at a certain point of their tra vel, I will now describe this clutch, together with the bottle-actuated mechanism for cont-rolling the same. Fast to the quill shaft 24 is a Vratchet Wheel 47 (see Figs. 3, 9 and 10). The teeth of this wheel are arranged to be engaged bya pawl or dog '48, pivoted at 49 to a disk 50 which is rigidly secured to the shaft 25. The dog` 48 has an arm projecting beyond its pivot 49, and mounted on this projecting arm is a `roller 51, which` is pressed outwardly by a.

spring 52, also carried by the disk 50. When the paw-l or dog 48 is in engagement With theteeth of the ratchet Wheel 47, there is a driving connection between the clutch shaft-'24 and the main shaft 25. The nu Ineral 58 (Fig. 1 designates a stop plate, arranged to be engaged by the bottles 13. This plate is hinged at 54 to an arm 55, which is fixed to the upper end portion of a vertical shaft 56. To the lower end portion of this shaft is fixed an arm 57, having a pin 58, at its outer end. To this pin is attached a connecting plate 59, Whose'opposite end is attached at 60 to a yoke 61. This yoke is hinged by a vertical pin 62 to a bracket .63. The arrangement of this yoke will be best understood by reference to Figs. 2, 9 and 10. The arms of the yoke at their upper ends carry, respectively, the inwardly projecting plates 64 and 61 jacent to one face of the disk 50, before referred to. On the opposite side of this disk are two' cam plates 66 and 67, which are Fig. l, will contact with the roller 51 ofthe dog 48, and thereby hold said dog out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchetwlieel 47. When a bottle contacts with the plate 53, it

pushes said plate forwardly, thereby rock.

ing the vertical shaft 56, and through the connections before described, moves the yoke 61 so that the plate64 will disengage the roller 51 and allow the dog'48 to engage with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 47. The shaft 25 is now set in motion. If every bottle arrives in a position to trip the plate 58 at exactly the right time, that is, before the dog 48 is disengaged from the ratchet 47, there will be a co-ntinuous operation of thev shaft 25 and of the parts operated thereby; but if a bottle does not arrive at the tripping point at the proper time, the inclined members 66 and 67 on the rear side of the disk 50 will engage the roller 68, on thc connecting plate 59, and will move the yoke 61 into a position so that one of the plates 64, 65, will contact with the roller 51 and throw the dog 48 out of engagement with the ratchet wheel 47. The machine will therefore stop until such time as a bottlean rives in position to again trip the plate 58. The numeral 69 designates a lever arm pivoted to the -table 2 at 70, and connected at 71 to an operating rod 72. The rod 72 can be moved to throw the. lever 69 to a position such that its free end will forma lock for the arm 55 and prevent the bottles from moving the plate 53 and thereby starting the operation of the machine.

The f Zabel holders and their operating mechanism/. -As before stated, there are two complete sets of label-applying mechanisms. The labels are placed in the label holders 7 3, one of these holders being arranged above the upper table 8, at each side of the longi-` tudinal center of the machine, in the manner best shown in Figs. 3 and 4. rlhey are mounted to slide toward and from the center of the machine upon the guide rods 74. At the outer end of each of the label boxes is a cross piece 75, secured thereto by thumb screws 76. Passing through this cross piece is a rod 77 (see Figs. 5 and 6) the outer end of which is pressed inwardly by a spring 78. the inner end of the spring seating against the cross piece 75. The inner end of the rod 77 carries a pusher plate 79,' which pushes against the pack of labels 80 within the box, and serves to keep them in contact with the tips of the members 81, at the inner ends of said box, said tips serving to normally prevent the label= from being pressed out of the box by the action o f the spring 78. Backward movement of the pusher plate is prevented by the spring- "-presed dog 82, engaging ratchet teeth 82a 'formed in the rod TT. The label boxes are reciprocated on the guides 74 by the following mechanism: Secured to the shaft 25 is a bevel gear wheel 88 see Fig. 3) which drives a similar gear 8-1, fixed to the lower end portion of a vertical shaft 85, which is journaled at its lower end portion 1n a bracket 86, supported by the lower table 1.

Theupper end vportion of this shaft is car ried in a bearing in a casting 8T, secured to the upper table 8. Secured to the upper end'pcrtion of the shaft 85 is an internalor grooved cam 88 (sce Figs. 5 '7 and 8). 89 designates two arms which are respectively hinged at the points 90 and 91. and which carry intermediate of their ends antifriction rollers 92, vei'igagiiig opposite side portions of the cam groove of the cam 88. The free ends of the arms 89 are connected by means of pins 93 to connecting rods 94. The outer of each member 96 is connected ,by a pin 97 with an arm 98 of a rock shaft 99, the arms 98 being connected with the label boxes 73 by the links 100. The rock shaft 99 is jour naled in bearings 101 (see Fig. 5) and has one of the arms 98 at each end, the two arms being connected to opposite sides of the outer end of the label box. The actuating connections for only one of the label boxes is sho-wn in Fig. 5, but it will be understood that there aresimilarconnectionsfor each of theboxes, as indicated .in Figs. l3 and 4. The revolution of the cam 88 actuates the arms 89 and the connections, just described, to move the label boxes alternately toward and away from the longitudinal center of the machine.

Tite paste apply/ng mechom'sms.-The paste is contained in two receptacles 102, one of which is placed at each side of the ma-4 chine. underneath each of the label holders; 0n the vertical shaft before described, and just below the cam 88, is a second internal grooved cam 108 (see Figs. 5, 7 and 8).` Pivoted on the vertical rods 90 and 91. before referred to. are two arms 104 (simi-l lar to the arms` 89, above described) and which carry rollers 105 at their central portions which-engage opposite portions of the cam groove of cam 103. To the free end of each arm 104 is attached a connecting rod 106. Screwed vinto this connecting rod is a small shaft 107, carrying two springs 108,

which are so arranged as to keep the rod centrally within a sleeve member 109. The member 109 (see Fig. 4) is connected at 110 yto an arm 111of a rock shaft 112, said shaft having bearings below one end portion of the adjacent paste receptacle. The latter is supported `by means of two horizontal rods 113, which are carried by the casting 87. 114 designates a shaft. 4which is journaled in lthe sides of the paste receptacle and ywhich extends transversely thereof. Secured to this shaft are two rollers 115, which turn within the paste receptacle and serve to pick up the paste or glue and distribute it to rubber-covered rollers 116. These rollers 116 are secured to shaft 117, which is carried by the arms 111 of the shaft 112, before referred to. 118 designates a wiper which is hinged to apin orshaft 119, and which serves to remove the excess paste or glue fro-in the surfaces of the rollers 115. The pressure of this wiper is regulated by any suitable means, such as a thumb screw 120.

121 designates a latch device hinged at 122l to the bolt 123, the latter being fastened to,

the table 3 by the nuts 124. This latch and bolt, together with the nuts 124, serves to regulate the position of the `paste pot relaltive to the pickers, hereinafter described, when the latter are in their highest positions, and also permit easy removal. of the paste receptacle for cleaning. Secured to the end of the shaft 117 is a pinion 125, which meshes with the gear wheel 1'26 on the shaft 114. The shaft -114 alsol has fixed thereto a bevel gear 127, which meshes with a corresponding wheel 128 on a shaft 129, supported in the bearings'A 130. The

shaft 129 carries a sprocket wheel 131, drivenvby a sprocket chain 132 (see Figs. 3 and 4) from the shaft 10. The\gear connections just described clause a constant rotation of the Wheels 115 within vthe paste receptacles, and the action of the cam 103 is such as to periodically move.' the wheels 116 toward and away from the peripheries of the wheels 115. 'in contactwith the wheels 115, the pinions 125 are in driving engagement with the gears 126, so that the wheels 116 are then rotated. While in contact with the wheels 115, they receive-their coating of paste or glue, and when moved lforwardly by the action of ,the cam 103, they move in contact with and apply the paste or glue to the surfaces of certain picker devices next to be described, and4 which vare provided for the purpose of selecting one label at a time from the label receptacles and f carrying them into position to vbe applied to a bottle. It will be understood that the arm 104 at o neside 'of the cam 1.03 operates the pasting mechanism at one side of the machine, while tthe arm 104 atthe opposite side of said cam operates-the pasting mechanism 'at the oppo- VVhenthe wheels 116 are' face.

site side. The shaft 129 is common to both pasting mechanisms, as will be clearlyy seen by referenceto Fig. 5.

The means for transferring and applying Zabala- Upon each forward movement of each label receptacle, the foremost label therein is pressed into engagement with picker devices which have previously received a coating of paste 4or glue in the manner just described, causing the label to adhere thereto. These pickers are then moved downwardly to carry the label into a position across the transversel line of movement of a bottle, as it is moved by the pusher plate 27. These pickers are arranged in two pairs, one pair at each side of the machine, and are designated by the numeral 133. The general arrangement of these pickers will best be understood by reference to Figs. 1 and 5. The pickers are carried by the upper end portions of four hollow rods or shafts 134, which areH arranged to reciprocate on the vertical gliiide rods 135, passing therethrough,- these rods extending from the table 2 upwardly to the top casting 87, in which they are secured. r1`he pickers are mounted to have a limited rotary movement f about the axis of the hollow shafts 134, be-l ing attached thereto through the .medium of torsion springs 136, as bestshown in Fig. 4. These springs tend to keep the pickers in the position shown in F is?. 1, ,but permit them to move sufficiently to permit full-sized bot. tles t1) pass between the pairs of pickers under the action of the pusher 27. The tubular rods or shafts 134 are secured at their lower ends to cross beams 137 (as best shown in Fig. 2).,Each of these cross beams 137 is connected to the upper end portion of a verticallymovable rack bar 138, these rack bars having their teeth held in engagementwith opposite sides of a toothed wheel 139, by means of rollers 140 (see Figs. 3 and 4). The gear wheel 139 is actuated as follows: On the main yshaft 25 is fixed a cam 141 (sce Figs. 4 and 14). This cam is embraced by a yo-ke 142, carrying antifriction rollers 143, which engage opposite sides of thecam'sur- The upper end portion of the yoke slides in a guide bearing 144, (see Fig. 4).y lts lower end portion is formed with a toothed rack 145, which is held in engage' ment with the teeth of a pinion 146, by a roller 147. The pinion 146 is I,fastened to a shaft 148, which also carries a spur gear wheel 149. The gear wheel 149 meshes with a pinion 150, which is on the same shaft' 151 with the'pinion 139, before referred to. The pinion 139 is connected with the shaft 151 through a slip or friction device of any suitable character, such as that shown in detail in Fig. 11. The connection, as shown in this figure, consists of the disks 152 at opposite sides of the gear 139, with interposed ber or friction plates 153, the parts being norifea is tor rub the labels noo-n the bottle.

inally clamped in frictional driving contact by means of a series of springs 154, secured by an adjustingnut 155. In case of any obstruction. due toa broken bottle or imperfect setting. the machine will not be injured, but the gear 139 will slip relatively .to the shaft '151 and on the next one-half cycle will re-setitself by the contact of the upper ends of the rack bars 138 with the under side of the table 2. inasmuch as the pickers are reciprocated from the main shaft 25, their action is controlled by the clutch mechanism before described, being dependent upon the action of a bottle upon the trip plate 53. The numeral 156 designates four vertical rods which extend from the-table 2 to the casting 37 `of the upper table 3,

one of these rods beingadjacent to each of lthe picker shafts 134 (see Fig. 1).y These rods 156 act as vertical shafts for bracket arms 157, secured thereto, and having at their outer sides rubber wipers 158. These wipers, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, lie just outside of the pickers 133, and in the paths` of the bottles as they are moved to either side by the pusher plate 27. Their purpose The brackets 157 have tail extensions to which are attached tension springs 159. These tail extensions are limited in their movements by the stop blocks160. The numeral 161 (see Fig. 1) designates two arms which are pivoted at 162 to bracket extensions 163 of the conveyer 5. These arms extend forwardlv over the table 2, their. free ends tei'- minating at points which are in the line of transverse movement of theV bottles under labels from the pickers 133. The two arms- 161 are connected by a tension device by means of which any desired pressure of the tips 166 upon the bottles and labels can be obtained. The tension device is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 2a. It consists of two brackets 167, swiveled at their upper ends at 163' in the respective arms 161, and receiving therein the .round ends of a fiat bar 169, which, with the brackets, forms a connection for the arms 161. This bar 169 passes below the conveyer 5l and between two fiber plates 170, whichare held compressed against the central portion of the bar by the plates 171.

Springs 172 and nuts 173 serve to regulate` the friction of 4the ber plates against the sides of the bar (see Fig. 2a).

By reference to Fig. 1. it will be understood that, as each bottle is forced between a pair of the pickers 133 and of the rubbers' 158, itjis moved into contact with one of the rubber. tips 166 and that the correspond ,shaft 25 in motion.

the ratchet 47, and the ing arm 161 is moved outwardly against the friction imparted to the connecting member 169 in the brackets 167. As one arm 161 is moved outwardly to the position shown at the upper side of Fi 1, the other arm is moved inwardly toy t e position shown at the lower side of Fig. 1. and in position to contact with the next bottle 13, which will be moved by the. pusher in that direction.

The operation. of the machina-The operation of the machine will be clearly understood from the detailed description heretofore given. It may, however, be summarized as follows: The bottles are either' placed upon the conveyer 5 by hand or they are deliveredthereto in any suitable manner. This conveyer' runs a little faster than the speed necessary to simply carry independent bottles to the machine. The bottles will consequently slide somewhat upon the central fixed portion of the conveyer and this sliding causes the advanced bottles to press against the trip plates 53. Fig. 1 illustrates the position occupied by the parts when one'bottle 14 has just received its label and has been released and is ready to be taken ot'by the conveyer 16 at that side. The advance bottle 13, pressing against the trip 53, trips the dog orpawl 48 in the manner before described and permits it to -engage the ratchet wheel 47. This starts the The pusher 27 now pushes the advance bottle 13 toward the lower side of Fig. 1 and against the label X, which is carried onv the pickers 133 at that side, and which stands across the path of movement, of the bottle. As the bottle is forced against this label, the bottle and label are pushed against the rubber tip piece 166, and the bottle passes between the pickers and lbetween the rubber wipers 158. This applies the label tothe bottle. @wing to the hump `a and recess b on the cam 41, the pusher 27 makes a slightly longer travel than indicated by the long or rest position on the cam, and consequently, the pusher plate will move back a short distance before coming to rest. This releases the bottle between the pusher plate 27 and the rubber tips166 and leaves the bottle free to be carried away by the conveyer 16, without causing any friction of a nature to injure or move the freshly pasted label on the bottle. The arm 161|at this time occupies a position (as will be readily seen by reference to the upper side of Fig. 1) which will not intertere with the movement of the bottle on to theconveyer. if the bottles arrive at the trip plate 53 in just the right sequence. there will be nodisengagement of the dos' 43 from machine will operate continuously. Tn the event, however, of the failure of a bottle to arrive at this point at just the proper time, the devices shown in detail in Fig. 9 and before described wiil 1.

operate to disengage, the dog 48, and the parts operated by the shaft will remain idle until such time as a bottle arrives in position to again trip the plate 53. The work of the machine is thus made entirely dependent upon the arrival of the bottles in proper position to actupon the trip plate 53. In

the position of the parts shown in Fig. 1, ,the pickers 133 are at the. center of their throw vertically. As soon as the machine is thrown into gear bya bottle, one set of 'these pickers will rise through the action o-f the ca m 141, and before they arrive at their upper limit of movement, the aste rollers 116 will move ,forwardly to distribute the paste to the pickers. Atthe time the pickers arrive at their top position and are` ina state of rest', dueto the shape of the cam 141,

the 'corresponding label box moves forward to press the outermostv` label'in contact with theglue or paste onthepicker plates, and

picker plates are stillat rest.

ner, one label at a time is removed from the 25f then immediately moves backward while the In this manlabel box, and is left upon the picker plates. The picker plates then descend to their central position, and in case the bottle properly arrives to its tripping position, the pickers come to rest at theiry lowest position and the pusher plate then pushes the bottle against the label y,in .the manner before described.

Thevpicker plate will then return to its ceni as to cause reverse operations of the two label boxes and paste-applying mechanisms. In case a' bottle falls over or any other obstruction isencountered by the pusher plate 27,'the friction device shown in Figs. 12 and 13 allows the gear 30 to slip so that the machine can perform one-half cycle of its-4 operation without any damage tothe machine. The machine will then stop until the lever arm 69 is moved backward by hand to trip the driving clutch, when a further one-half cycle will re-set the" pusher plate in its correct relative positionu This re-settingis ef. fected by causing the ends of rackto which the pusher plate is attached to engage stop bolts 27 at each side of the machine (see Fig. 3).

body label to placca smaller label upon .a neck portion of a bottle. My m'achine can be readily adaptedfo-r the simultaneous application of both `a body and a neck label In Figs. 15, 16 and 17, I have shown a modicati'on suitable for this work.

' The machine is in general the same as that before described, and in these three figures, the parts of the machine which are unmodified are given the same reference numerals as in the preceding figures.

The four hollow shafts 134 are made longer than in the machine first described, their upward extensions being indicated in Figs. 15., 16 and 1 7 at 1343. The guide rods 135 are v also provided with the upward extensions 1352 To `the extensions 134a are rigidly secured the pickers 175,wh1ch are similar to the pickers 138. As stated, they are rigidly secured to the hollow shaft extensions, not being required to move, as the diameter of the neck of the bottle is much less than the diameter of the body portion. The vertical rods 156 carry the wipers 176,

which are generally similar to the wipers 158. The wipers 176 are for the purpose of wiping the neck labels upon the bottles.

Above each label box and secured thereto to move therewith is an additional and similar label box 177. These boxes 177 are adjustably mounted with respect to lthe main label box 73, as indicated at 178, so

that the height of the neck labels can be adjusted with respect tothe bottles. Inside of each of these auxiliary label boxes is a pusher device in all respects similar to that first described and shown indetail in Fig. 6, the pusher` plates being provided with the springs 179.

The faces ofthe picker plates 175 are in the same vertical plane as the faces of the respectively corresponding picker plates 133. Consequently, when the pickers for both the body and the neck labels pass the paste orglue rollers 116, the latter distribute paste or gluel upon the neck label pickers as' well as upon the body label pickers.

When either body label box, which also' carries a neck label box, approaches the center of the machine, both the body and the neck labels in the two boxes contact with the body and nec-k pickers at the same time, and

the pickers thus vpick one label from each box. One of these neck labels is shown at X in Fig. 17. The body label is held against the bottle in the same manner as that previously described,fnamely, by a rubbery or similar tip carried by one of the arms 161. The holder 180 for this tip 181 is, however, somewhat different from that fi-r'st described, in that it consists' of a lever arm pivoted at 182 in a jaw 183, at the end of the arm 161.

The tip 181 is secured to one arm of the lever 180, and secured to itsother arm is a ti It 1s sometimes desired, 1n addition to the gage its neck in the manner shown in Fig.

From this time, all theparts carried at incassa the end of the arm 161 move 1with the bottle, while the same is passing through the Wipers. The operation of releasing the bottle after the labels have been applied is precisely the saineI as before described. The lever i8() is normally in vertical position, as shown in Fig. 16, soY that the two rubbers 181 and 18e are normally in vertical line until such time as the lower rubber contacts vwith a bottle. ln the case of bottles of unusual heigh'nl provide the pusher plate 27 with an extension 27 (see Fig.l 15). This extension is adapted to contact with the top of the bottle, in order to prevent the bottle being tipped while passing through the wipers. 'By the simple .addition of these parts, the machine can be made to simultaneously apply both neck and body labels to bottles.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent from the foregoing. The machine is comparatively simple with respect to the numerous operations which it automatically performs; it is capable of doing Work rapidly and efficiently; and, owing to the provision of the safety devices described, the danger of breakage due to obstructions is reduced to a minimum.

l do not desire to limit myself to the particular construction and arrangement of the part-s which l have herein shown and described, since it is obvious that in detail the machine can be Widely changed,.without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Thus, in matters of frame construction; in the nature and arrangement of the lgearing and actuating connections, and in various other respects, wide variations may be made, without affecting the principle of the machine.

l claim:

l. A labeling machine, comprising a feedin mechanism. an article-transfer device for moving the articles laterally .from the delivery of the feed-in mechanism to a labeling station, a label-applying mechanism, a trip device for contact with the articles, and connectionsoperated by the trip device for controlling the time of operation of the transfer device, substantially as described.

Q. A labeling machine, comprisin a feedin mechanism, an article transfer evice, a label-applying mechanism, a trip device arranged for contact with the article, and connections operated by the trip device for controlling` the time of operation of the transfer device and of the label-applying mechanism, .substantially as described.

I3. A label-applying machine, comprising a feed-in conveyer, a trip device arranged to be operated by the articles tobe labeled at a certain point in their feed-in movement, a label-applying mechanism, a transfer device for carrying the articles to the action of the are ff labeling mechanism, and connections controlled by the trip device for controlling the time of operation of the transfer device substantially as described.

4. A machine for applying labels, comprising a feed-in conveyer and two feed-out conveyers, two sets of label-applying mechanisura, and a distributing device for distributing the articles to be labeled alternately to the two label-applying mechanisms and thence to the respective feed-out conveyers, substantially as described.

f3. A label-applying machine, comprising a centrally arranged feed-in conveyer and tivo' feed-out conveyers arranged at opposite sides of the line of action ofthe feed-in oonveyer. two sets of label-applying mechanisms, and a distributing device for moving successive bottles alternately to the action of one or the other of the label-applying mechanisms, substantially as described.

6. A label-applying machine, comprising a centrally arranged feed-in conveyer and two feed-out conveyers arranged at opposite sides of the line of action of the feed-in conveyer, two sets of label-applying mechanisms, and a distributing device for moving successive bottles alternately to the action cf one or the other lof the label-applying mechanisms, together with an article-actuated tripping mechanism for controlling the time of action of the distributing device and of the label-applying mechanisms, substan-- tially as described.

-7. A label-applying machine, comprising a feed-in' conveyer, two feed-out conveyers arranged at opposite sides of the line of action of the feed-in conveyer, atransversely movable distributing device, and means controlled by the articles to be labeled for timin the action of the distributingdevice, su stantially as described.

8. A label-applying machine, comprising `a feed-in conveyer, two feed-out conveyers arranged at opposite sides of the line of action of the feed-in conveyer. a transversely movable distributing device for the articles to be labeled, gearing for actuating said device, a trip member arranged for successive contact with the articles, and connectic-ns actuated by the trip device for controlling said gearing, substantially as described.

9. A label-applying machine, comprising a feed-in conveyer, a feed-out conveyer arranged at one side of the line of action of the feed-in conveyer, label-applying mechanism arranged intermediate the two conveyers, a transversely movable pusher device for moving the articles to be lab-,eledfrom the delivery end of the feed-in conveyer through the label-applying mechanism to the feed-out conveyer and means controlled' by the articles to be labeled for controlling the time of operation of the pusher device., substantially as described.

ias-

isa

trip device for controllinw the action of the pusher device, substantially as described.

11. A label-applying machine, comprisingl `a feed-in conveyer, a feed-out conveyer arranged at one side of the line of action of thefeed-.in conveyer, label-applying mechanism arranged intermediate the two conveyers, and a' transversely movable pusher device for moving the articles to be'labeled fromt he delivery end of the feed-inconveyer through the label-applying mechanism to the feed-out'fconveyer, together with actuating mechanism for the pusher device, a trip member arranged tobe engaged by the articles at the delivery end of the feed-in conveyer, connections operated by the 'trip device for controlling the action of the pusher fdeviee, and other connections operated by the trip member for controlling the action of the label-applying mechanism,

substantially as described.

12. A label-applying ,machine comprising a feed-in conveyer, two feed-out conveyer-sA extending substantially parallel tothe feedin conveyer .at opposite sidesV of the line of action thereof, a transversely movable pusher for conveying alternate articles from the delivery of the feed-in conveyer to one and` the 'other of'the feed-out conveyers, a labelapplying mechanism intermediate the delivery end of the feed-in conveyer and each feed-out conveyer, and means controlled by the'articles to be labeled for controlling the action of the transferv device and of the label-applying mechanism, substantially as described.

18. A label-applying machine, comprising l a feed-in conve er'an'd two feed-out conlist veyers, 'the fee -out conveyers being substantially parallel with butarr'anged at op posite sides of the line of action of the feedin conveyer, a transverselyl mo'vable transfer device, a -labelapplyin mechanism lintermediate the delivery en of the feed-in conveyer and each feed-out conveyer, and gearing for reciprocating said device in timed relation to, the arrival of the articles to be labeled at the delivery end of the feed-in conveyer, substantially as described.

14. A label-applying machine, comprising a feed-in conveyer, a feed-out conveyer, a

the label-applying mechanisms,

label-applying mechanism intermediate the adjacent portions of the two conveyers, a transfer device for moving the articles from the delivery end of the feed-in conveyer through the label-applying mechanism to the receiving end of the feed-out conveyer,- a movable trip member adjacent the end of the feed-in conveyer, and connections operated'by the trip member for controlling the time of action of the transfer and label-applying mechanisms, substantially as de- 15. A label-applying machine having label-applying mechanism, a transversely movable article-moving device for moving the articles to and through the label-applying mechanism, a shaft, actuating connections between the shaft and said device, a d riving member for said shaft, a clutch connec'tion vbetween the driving member and the shaft, a trip member adapted to be engaged 'by the articles to be delivered, and connections actuated by the trip member for controlling the said clutch, substantially as described.

16. A label-applying mechanism, comprising a feed-in conveyer, a separatel feed-out lconveyer whose receiving end is'at one side of the delivery end of the feed-in conveyer, label-applying and pasting mechanisms located intermediately of the two conveyers', a

transversely movable transfer device for moving` the bottles from the feed-in conveyer through the label-applying mechanism to the feed-out conveyer, and trip devicesand connections controlled by the a-rticles to be labeled forcontrolling the time of operation ofthe transfer device and of substantially as described.

17. A label-applying machine, comprising arfeed-in conveyer, afeed-out conveyer operatingin a path substantially parallel with but to one lside of theV feed-in conveyer, gearing for continuously movingl the conveyers, a label-pasting and applying mechanism intermediate the feed-in and feed-out conveyers, means for moving the articles to be lab'eled from the delivery end of the feed-in.

conveyer through the label-applying mechanism to the feed-out conveyer, a power shaft having` actuating connections for operating the label-pasting and applying mechanisms and the article-movin means, a clutch device for controlling t e operation of said shaft, a trip arranged to be engaged by the articles, .and connectionsl operated by the trip device for, controlling the operation of the clutch, substantially as described.

18. A .label-applying machine, comprising a feed-in conveyer, two feed-out conveyers having their receiving ends at opposite. sides of then delivery point of the feed-in conveyer,

a pair of label pickers between such deliveryupoint and the receiving end of eachb'els to said pickers, and means for moving successive articles alternately between oneand the other pair of label pickers, substantially as described.

19. A label-applying machine, comprising' a feed-1in conveyer, two feed-out conveyers having their receiving ends at'opposite sides of the delivery point ofthe feed-inconveyer, a pair of label pickers between such delivery point and the receiving end of each feedout conveyer, means for supplying labels to said pickers, and means for moving succes sive articles alternately between one and the other pair of label pickers, togetherl with means tor holdingthe label on the article as the label is removed from the pickers, substantially as described.

'20. A label-applying machine, comprising a feed-in conveyer, a feed-out conveyerfhaving its receiving end to one side of the delivery point of the feed-in conveyer, a pair of label pickers located between the adjacent ends of the two eonveyers and in the path of movement from one conveyer to the other of the articles to be labeled, means tor moving the articles between the label pickers and against the labels held thereby, means for supplying labels to said pickers, and an adjustable pressure device tor holding the labels on the articles as the labelsI are removed by the articles from the pickers, substantially as described.

21. A label-applying machine, comprising a feed-in conveyer, two feed-out conveyers having their receiving ends at opposite sides ot the delivery point ot the feed-in conveyer, label-holding` devices intermediate the delivery point ofthe feed-in conveyer and the receiving end of each of the feed-out conveyers, means for movinor the articles to be labeled past the label-holdingdevices to the feed-out conveyers, and a pair of connected presser' arms arranged to hold the labels on the articles, one of said arms op'- erating in connection with each ot' said, label holding devices, substantially as described.

22. A label-applying machine, comprising` a feed-in conveyer, two feed-out convey'ers having their receiving ends at opposite sides ot the delivery point ot the feed-in convcyer, label-holding devices intermediate the delivery point ot the feed-in conveyer and the receiving end of each ot the feed-out conveyers, means for moving the articles to be labeled past the label-holding devices te the teed-out conveyers, and a pair oit connected presser arms arranged to hold the labels on the articles, one of said arms operating; in connection with each olf said label-holding devices, together with means for regulating the pressure exerted by said arms, substantially as described.

23. label-applyingi machine feed-in conveyer, a label-applying mechanism'at each side of the delivery end of the feed-inI conveyer, a transfer device for moving the articles to be labeled alternately to `one and the other ofthe label-applying mechanisms, and gearingtor actuating;- said device, saidgearing having? a slip element,'

substantially as described.

24vlabel-applying machine having vertically reciprocating label pickers, cani means for' actuating the pickers arranged to hold them periodically in a position of rest in both their label-receiving and their labeltransferring positions, means for applying adhesivev thereto, means for feeding labels to the pickers, and actuating gearing, said gearing comprising a slip element, substan- .tiallv as. described.

25. ,A1 label-applyingmachine, comprising av feed-in mechanism, a pair of vertically movable label pickers at each side of the delivery end of the feed-in mechanism, means for supplying labels to said label pickers, and means for alternately moving successive articles to be labeled between one and the other pair of label pickers, substantially as described.

26. A label-applyingmachine, comprising` a feed-in mechanism, a pair ot vertically movable label pickers at each side of the delivery end ot the feed-in mechanism, means for supplying labels to said label pickers, and means for alternately moving successive articles to be labeled between one and the other pair of said label pickers, together with a trip device adjacent to said delivery point, and actuating connections operated by said device tor contlxillingthe movement of the label pickers, substantially as described.

n 27 1`i label-applying machine, having a reed-1n convcyer ror .feeding in the articles to be labeled in a single row, a tripping mechanism arranged to be automatically tripped by the article to be labeled when the same reaches a predetermined position, two sets ot vertically reciprocating label pickers, means tor applying,` paste to said pickers during their upward stroke, means `tor supplying,h labels to the pickers While they are at rest at their highest position, means 'or temporarily holding the pickers at rest when in their highest and ylowest positions, a transversely movin@ pusher plate which pushes articles to be libeled against the label, presser means for Aholding the iabels on the articles while they are being removed trom the pickers, and means tor causing the pusher plate to recede from its maximum outward throw to release the labeled article between the presser means and said plate, all off said operations being' controlled by the said triipiping mechanism, substanti ly described.

, icl-aghiplyintr machine having a feed-in conveyer for feeding in the articles to be labeled in a single row, a tripping mechanism arranged to be automatically tripped by the article to be labeled when same reaches a predetermined position, two sets of vertically reciprocating label pickers, means for applying paste t0 said pickers during their upward stroke, means for supplying labels to the pickers while they are at rest in their highest position, means for temporarily holding the pickers at rest while at their highest and lowest positions, a transversely movingpusher plate which pushes the articles to be labeled against the label, presser means for holding the labels on the articles while they are being removed from the pickers, and means for causing the 4pusher plate to recede from its maximum outward throw to release the labeled article between the presser means and said plate, all of said operations being controlled by the tripping mechanism, and two continuously operating conveyers substantially parallel with the feed-in conveyer and underneath the released position of the labeled article to remove said labeled article from between the presser arm and said pusher plate, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I havefhereunto set my hand.

EARL PORTER WETMORE. Witnesses:

A. C. PARKER, L. Gr. WILL. 

